WTF is social? Stress

This blog is part of a series.  WTF is social?  Using Human Completeness as the core ability of the human brain, we examine various facets of social life and how communication technology and size of social circle,  impact our ability to be socially effective. 

Intents, Motives And Stress 

 We see human faces on rocks, in clouds and even on surface of moon. And we see human error in our offices and when driving. We see intent and bad motives where there are none. This is the social brain at work.  Mostly harmless, easy and intuitive, but also inaccurate and exploitable. We need books on thinking in objects, thinking in java, thinking like a state, thinking as a company, thinking as a bureaucracy, thinking as a system, etc but we don't need a book on thinking as another person. That is hard-coded and inbuilt into the brain. 

The most important consequence of the social brain and its limitations is that we now live in societies larger than 150 in size and we don't even have time to attend to these 150 people with which we can be truly human. Celebrities have taken over some of the slots (150) available. Politicians take some. News anchors have stolen a few. Religion and Gods also need some slots. And of course one for the boss and his boss. And it is not only that the slots are taken but also the power equation in each relationship matters. Modern life is stressful. Too many relationships and most of them with odds against you. Do you feel boxed? Find it hard to navigate the web of obligations around you? Sorry I have no advice or solution. This is it.  

One of the key problem seems to be broadcasting. Communication with face-time gives us the ability to ask questions, rephrase what we say and avoid misunderstandings. Sermons, Books, Newspaper, Radio, TV and now Twitter, Facebook etc don't have the same texture. They are all focused on reach, on monologue. Monologues doesn't makes societies. It is dialogues Sir.  

Freedom of speech is a silly kind of right at best. It is probably like say right to bring a knife to a fight. Broadcast would be equivalent of bringing a machine gun or atomic bomb. In the fight of ideas, best arguments only win when they have the same reach and broadcasting power. Knifes have no chance against machine guns even when they are super sharp. The only chance they have is if they can reach someone's heart.  

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